This year’s festival will be held Thursday, July 4th from 3 – 9 p.m. in Riverfront Park. It will include more than 40 food trucks with items such as artisanal grilled cheese, brisket and pulled pork sandwiches, pasta alfredos and cannolis, coconut butterfly shrimp, crab cakes and tacos. Festival favorites such as specialty burgers, fresh cut fries, kettle corn, cotton candy, fried oreos and funnel cake will also be available along with Farm Show milkshakes! A foodie guide with a complete list of food trucks and menu items is available at www.harrisburgpa.gov/july4th.

Select food trucks will arrive early to serve lunch starting at 1 p.m. this year. A list of participating trucks will be posted in the Facebook event. All other festival activities will not begin until the official festival start time at 3 p.m.

“I’m very excited for this year’s event” said Mayor Papenfuse. “Last year’s festival drew nearly 35,000 visitors and we are expecting an even larger crowd this year. And, I would like to give a special thanks to our Title Sponsor, Visit Hershey & Harrisburg for their help in making this event possible.”

Non-stop entertainment will be featured on the main stage at Market Street and on the acoustic music stage in the Wine Garden with performances by the Shrimp Ryan Jig Band, Justin Angelo Band, Lost Love Horizon, Time Bomb, Alex Allegra and Keith Goldstein. Kids zone activities are free and include face painting, balloons and a patriotic kids handprint craft. Captain America, Wonder Woman and several other superheroes will be available to meet and take photos with kids from 5 p.m. – 9 p.m.

New this year will be a wine garden featuring local vineyards including J&P Winery, Bouchette Vineyards, 5 Schmucks Winery, Nissley Vineyards and the Winery at Hunters Valley.

The fireworks will begin at approximately 9:15pm. The 15-minute fireworks show will include over 1,000 shells launched from the tip of City Island, providing all of Riverfront Park with a breathtaking view of the fireworks display.

Street parking on July 4th will be free, parking on City Island will be $5, and there will be $10 parking in the Market Square Garage from 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. Recycle Bicycle will provide free bike parking at Pine and Front Street. Attendees can also take public transportation to the festival. The train station is a short 10-minute walk from the festival and there is a bus stop just one block away.

The Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra will perform in Reservoir Park at 7:30 p.m.